1991 Jane Doe ID'd; Had Ties To Santa Cruz, Santa Rosa

VACAVILLE, CA — A Jane Doe whose body was found in 1991 by contractors grading a field for the construction of Vacaville Premium Outlets has recently been identified as 38-year-old Cynthia Merkley, also known as Cynthia Bilardi, Vacaville police said Monday.

The Vacaville Police Department said her death however, remains unsolved. Police are hoping by releasing a photo of how she looked then alongside computer-generated images of how she may have looked now, people who knew Cynthia prior to her death will come forward.

Cynthia's body was found in 1991 by contractors who were grading an open field off of Nut Tree Road and Burton Drive. Authorities who responded to the scene found a white female adult who appeared to have been dead for about two or three weeks. They found no obvious signs of blunt force trauma or foul play and although they were unable to determine her cause of death, it was deemed suspicious.

Solano County coroner's officials were not able to identify the woman so she became a Jane Doe —the Vavacille Police Department's lone Jane Doe case.

The case grew cold but detectives kept trying; in 1998, her body was exhumed and a facial reconstruction was done by a law enforcement expert. An artist's sketch and the reconstruction model were sent out publicly in the hopes someone may recognize her.

While that led to many leads for detectives to follow, their Jane Doe remained unidentified for decades.

Fast forward to late 2018, when the California Department of Justice's Missing Persons Unit notified Vacaville PD that through the use of updated fingerprint technology, their Jane Doe had been identified as Cynthia Merkley AKA Cynthia Bilardi — who had not been reported as a missing person at the time of her death.

With her identity now determined, Vacaville police detectives recently made contact with her family members and are continuing their investigation.

Detectives have learned Cynthia was estranged from her family for several years prior to her death.

"The family is still around but they can't fill in the gaps," said Vacaville police Lt. Chris Polen. "She had a husband but they divorced."

Vacaville police have determined Cynthia was 38 years old when she died and had been living between the cities of Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa.

"Even after 28 years, detectives never gave up hope that our only 'Jane Doe' case would one day be identified," Polen said. "Our hope is that this post will generate new leads for detectives to look into, to help determine what happened to Cynthia that fateful night back in 1991 that led to her untimely death."

Anyone who knew Cynthia at the time of her death is urged to contact Vacaville police Detective Andy Polik at 707-469-4814 or andrew.polik@cityofvacaville.com. Police said tipsters may remain anonymous.

Bay City News Service contributed to this report.